The Idle Lord of Aachen

Synopsis

**Synopsis**

Aachen, 792 AD. Lord Aldric of the Vosges possesses a mind sharp enough to outthink Charlemagne’s finest scholars—and a single, burning desire: to tend his ancestral vineyards and do absolutely nothing else. Yet every attempt at quiet retirement ignites a fresh catastrophe. A half-finished drainage plan to avoid a royal commission accidentally saves the palace from a Frankish siege. A forged illness, meant to earn him bedrest, results in a diplomatic triumph over the Avars. Each "lazy" solution binds him tighter to the Emperor’s gilded cage, dragging the reluctant lord from the blood-soaked Saxon marches to the marble halls of Rome. As the year 800 approaches and Charlemagne seeks an imperial crown, Aldric’s genius for doing just enough—and no more—becomes the Empire’s most dangerous weapon. But when his final, foolproof scheme to vanish into obscurity threatens to unravel the very coronation that will define Christendom, Aldric must choose: the peaceful obscurity he craves, or the impossible burden of a legacy he never wanted.

**Main characters**

- **Lord Aldric of the Vosges** – A brilliant, cynical minor nobleman whose only ambition is a quiet life of wine, books, and sleep. His schemes to slack off are dangerously effective. - **Charlemagne** – The towering, unpredictable Emperor of the Franks, who sees through Aldric’s ruses and delights in exploiting them for the realm’s benefit. - **Hildegard of Metz** – A sharp-witted abbess and Aldric’s former betrothed, who remains the sole person able to out-maneuver him, often for her own amusement. - **Gerold the Saxon** – A scarred, loyal warrior who serves as Aldric’s reluctant bodyguard, baffled by a master who flees glory. - **Princess Rotrude** – Charlemagne’s clever, observant daughter, who finds Aldric’s idleness a refreshing puzzle—and a useful tool against her father.